Rookie Knutsen Dazzles Page

Paul Kariya remains at home in Vancouver while awaiting a resolution to his contract stalemate, but that doesn’t mean there haven’t been any skillful playmakers at Mighty Duck training camp in Anaheim.

Espen Knutsen, a rookie center from Norway, has turned heads with several spectacular plays during scrimmages this week.

“I think he’s for real,” Coach Pierre Page said.

The Ducks’ initial plan calls for Knutsen to center the second line with Tomas Sandstrom, signed during the off-season as a free agent from the Detroit Red Wings, on one wing. The third member of the line has not been determined.

Knutsen, Sandstrom and Finnish rookie Antti Aalto played together during Friday’s scrimmage and impressed Page, who is looking for scoring punch beyond the potent first line of Kariya, Steve Rucchin and Teemu Selanne.

“Sandstrom likes to score goals, Knutsen likes to make plays and Aalto likes to muck and grind,” Page said.

Knutsen, Aalto and Selanne are among those scheduled to play in the Ducks’ exhibition opener Sunday at Edmonton.

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Page said promising rookie defenseman Marc Moro looked “uptight” after two days of scrimmages. So, Page moved Moro to center Friday and watched him score a goal on a breakaway.

“It’s an old trick I learned from [Detroit Coach] Scotty Bowman,” Page said. “When a guy looks uptight, move him up front. It gives him a lot of freedom and there’s more open ice.”

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The Ducks scrimmaged on Disney Ice’s Olympic-sized rink, which is 15 feet wider than the standard NHL rink. The Ducks and Vancouver Canucks will play on an Olympic-sized rink Oct. 3-4 in Tokyo.